Anew
by Helle Bright
Summary: After Luna retrieves her memories Serena is feeling lonely, and even watching "Star Wars" fails to entertain her. To break the spell of depression, she acts out a piece of the movie while holding up the Silver Crystal. Not a wise thing to do with the magi


Title: Anew  
Author: Helene  
e-mail: aishiteru@nightmail.ru  
Rating: PG13  
Teaser: 'May the force be with me' said Serena to her Crystal.   
Now, how could the artifact defy the request?  
Timeline: First Season  
Disclaimer: "Star Wars", "Sailor Moon", "Silence of Lambs", or   
other masterpieces, starting with an 'S', do not belong to me.  
  
Chapter I  
  
The curtains were draped; a full bowl of popcorn stood on the floor near   
a cozy sofa with dozen soft pillows; the lights were turned off; a cute   
guy recited words of commitment to salvage a world from the TV-screen in front   
of the sofa. A relaxation-friendly set up, that's how yours truly would call   
it, and the black cat, sprawled on the sofa's end, would have adhered, had   
she not been a product of imagination, and fast asleep at that.   
  
The other end of the sofa was occupied by a small teenage girl. She was curled   
up with her knees drawn to her chest, her fair hair poured freely around her   
slim figure, and her face was taut. Her tiny hands were absently toying with a   
pentagon shaped trinket.  
  
"At least Luke's friends were alive, and cheered for him," she whispered   
wistfully, "and I am left all alone. Even Luna is asleep. He had his battle-ship,   
and missiles, and a computer. I fight with a jewel. It's not that I under-appreciate   
the Crystal, but I wish I had something else, if I can't have my friends. I wish   
the force were with me," she signed with a whimsical pout. In a few moments, though,   
a delightfully ridiculous idea lit up her drawn features.   
  
"Yea," she giggled, springing to her feet, and raising her joined hands to the   
ceiling, "may the force be with me!"  
  
Ivory brilliance erupted from her hands, momentarily hindering her vision, and   
hampering her balance. She staggered, and fell back; her head and shoulders ended   
up on the sofa, and her bottom half impacted the floor. The oddest thing about   
the whole ordeal was the fact that she felt an additional weight pressing into   
her thighs.   
  
She blinked, and tentatively peered down. A gasp and a shriek later,   
the weight was shoved off, and she was standing on the sofa, frantically   
perusing the room to locate the Crystal.  
  
"Who on Earth are you? Who sent you? What are you doing here   
in my room? How did you get here? What do you want from me? Do   
you know that I have a black belt?" she yelled, attempting to stall   
for time. For there, on her unblemished carpet, was lying a young   
male intruder with rainbow colored hair that reached his shoulders.   
And, lo, behold, marvel, and boggle, for the man was wearing a white   
dress.  
  
"Stop hollering, and step down, Serenity," he demanded, his   
low reverberant voice proving her guess about his masculinity,   
previously based on his build, height, and quite hairy legs, to   
be accurate, "you're acting as if you were not aware that I was   
going to make an appearance. You did summon me, didn't you?"  
"Summon you?" she screeched incredulously, not moving from her   
previous position. "I don't know who you are, why would I want   
to summon a strange guy into my living room?"  
  
The unwelcome guest stood up, and raised his head to regard her   
with disturbingly hyaline eyes.  
  
"Because your Highness is bored by her usual courtiers," he volunteered   
casually, "and wishes to make acquaintance of an exceptionally fine   
gentleman that resides beyond her conventional realm."  
"Don't call me 'your Highness'," she said absently. His poised manner   
was soothing, and his taunting had put her at ease as to his alleged   
animosity.   
"Are you implying that I was right, Serenity?"  
  
Serena snorted, and jumped to stand on the floor.  
  
"What makes you think I consider you an exceptionally fine gentleman?"  
"The fact that you've been ogling me ever since I got here, my dear.   
But if you truly do not approve of my humble appearance," he articulated   
haughtily, halting the speech to perform an elaborate bow, "I shall   
modify it to accommodate your refined sense of beauty."  
  
A black cape materialized from the air, cloaking his bent form. Then he   
straightened his back, and a jolt of unbearable yearning shook Serena,   
causing her to sway and sink to the couch.   
  
In front of her stood a grinning raven-haired youth, wearing medieval   
attire made of black silk. But what distressed her were his mischievously   
twinkling indigo orbs that reminded her of another pair that had held nothing   
but disdain for her that morning.  
  
"Change back," she bid hollowly.   
"What's wrong, I assumed that this is the ultimate type you're attracted   
to..."  
"Almost..."  
"So why, pray tell, do you object to me donning this guise?"  
"You're not him."  
  
He inspected the downcast girl, attempting to discern the cause of   
her anguish. It did not help that his natural perception had been   
thwarted by human sight. Normally, he would have reached out to entwine   
with the intricate patterns of her senses, breeze through the cobwebs   
of her memories, and feel her thoughts. Being confined within the frail   
body was already proving a handicap, yet his vast experience and profound   
knowledge afforded him the answer.  
  
"He is the only one you want," he stated. "But why? Right now I am just   
like him. Why won't you have me? I could provide you the comfort..."  
"I don't want comfort," she exploded. "I do not wish to be consoled, I   
do not need a   
substitute. I wouldn't know what to do with the substitute."  
"I could teach you," he drawled suggestively, looking her over with a   
lascivious smirk. Not that he was keen on making lewd comments, but people   
seemed to laugh at them, and he wanted her to laugh. Her desolate demeanor   
was already giving him a headache.   
  
Had the guy been better acquainted with the Crystal's new mistress,   
he would have known that his answer would cause them both additional   
grief.  
  
"Not you too," wailed a terrified Serena. "I refuse to have another   
teacher! I have more than I can handle already!"  
"By troth, child, you change moods like other people do boots," he   
grumbled.  
"'Gloves', not 'boots'!"  
"Well, 'gloves' do not rhyme with 'moods'. About teachers, though, what   
on earth have you done to Luna to have her sleeping through this ruckus?"  
"What have I done to Luna!" hollered Serena indignantly. "What has   
LUNA done to ME! She takes my life away and makes me absolutely miserable,   
restoring my memories, and you ask what have I done to her! Why you..."  
"Stop that rant," demanded the guest brashly. "I haven't realized that   
your foster family was doing such a poor job at bringing you up properly."   
He sighed. "Maybe I should have picked other people..."  
"How dare you insult my family that way!"   
  
Serena was adamant. An agent of the Negaverse or not, the stranger   
went way overboard with his rude insinuations, and she didn't intend   
to swallow it even though the guy did resemble the love of her life at   
the moment. Which reminded her...  
  
"And haven't I told you to change back?" she yelled.  
"Your wish is my command," he grinned, repeating the process of   
bowing and hiding beneath the cape. "But I'll never be able to mingle   
in your society looking like that."  
"I don't want you to mingle in my society."  
"Unfortunately, the choice is not yours to make, princess. I am   
not aware how I arrived in this realm, but I do realize that since   
I am already here I need to make your acquaintance."  
"What do you mean?" asked Serena. By that time she was thoroughly   
confused, not knowing whether to try to boot her guest out of the   
house or wait until she had more information on his reasons for being   
there in the first place. After all, he had appeared after she   
had pretended to use the Crystal, and his words implied that he had a   
connection to the Moon Kingdom.  
"Why don't we take a look at your advisor, and then I'll tell you   
everything."  
  
He stepped closer to the couch, examining Luna. Nothing seemed to be   
wrong with the cat, but he couldn't rely on the limited sight perception,   
so he extended an arm to touch the animal.   
  
"No," said Serena anxiously. "I don't really trust you yet," she added  
with an apologetic smile.  
  
A princess not trusting him. That was novel, and not much was novel   
for him anymore. The novelty, however, felt rather disconcerting, and   
he wasn't sure that he enjoyed the tingly sinking sensations that had   
come with it. They were quite distracting, though, which could   
prove detrimental to the task at hand.  
  
"It's all right. What did you say she had been doing before she had   
fallen asleep?"  
"First, she restored my memories, then told me to fight the monster,   
and then we went home..."  
  
He squinted at the black feline, attempting to stretch his senses,   
and only at the appearance of a dull ache around his eyelids he realized   
the futility of that endeavor. Yet again he had to resort to his memories,   
and even they turned out to be harder to access.  
  
The answer came with an uncomfortable jolt, as if his mind had been   
suddenly sucked into the maelstrom of insight, and immediately hurled   
away before he could grasp anything else.   
  
"She used up too much energy," he concluded wryly, not entirely   
over the experience of exercising the human mind. "Come sit down."  
  
What was it with the guy, thought Serena darkly. One moment he is   
impertinently mischievous, then sympathetic, and in the end he waxes   
patronizing and overbearing. Who does he think he is anyway?  
  
"Who are you?" she queried, voicing the last question.  
"The Force," told the stranger offhandedly. "Pleased to finally meet you?"  
"Finally?"  
"Yes, finally. A moon heir is to meet me before she or he starts learning   
how to use the Crystal. In fact, I am the one who is to endorse any   
candidate to the moon throne before they get to the   
Crystal."  
"Really?" Serena's eyes widened at the revelation. Was it possible...   
"Do you mean that I'm not the designated heir?" she asked hopefully.   
"I don't have to be Sailor Moon?"  
"Sorry to disappoint you, princess, but, to quote your famous musician,   
'it ain't necessarily so'. I mean that I haven't met you since you had   
not began using the Crystal on the Moon, and there had been nobody to   
summon me and introduce us on Earth until today."  
"Maybe you can still disown me?"  
"I can if I choose to do so."  
"What do I do?"  
  
Was it the faulty upbringing that had turned her against the duties   
the moon queens used to embrace freely and gladly, he wondered. Or was   
it her education in the ways of democracy? The feelings of loneliness she   
seemed to harbor? Well, he had enough time to solve that mystery as well   
as change her heart.  
  
"Nothing," he said aloud for her benefit. "I just need to get to know   
you. Would you really object to having me as a friend?"  
"No. Of course not," gushed the girl, and he had to smile at her earnest   
mug and imploring gaze.   
"Don't you want to know where I come from first?"  
"Oh, yes, where do you come from? I mean you didn't fall from the sky, or   
there would have been a hole in the roof."  
"Well, I came from the Crystal?"  
"The Crystal? You don't live there do you? It must be so uncomfortable!"  
  
Again he had to smile at both her naivete and empathy.   
  
"It isn't," he assured her. "In fact, a long long time ago I chose to   
leave your realm for the realm of the Crystal."  
"Why?"  
"I was a powerful mage, and people would approach me with their cares,   
pleading that I assist them. Some tried to bribe me, others threatened,   
and many tricked me into thinking that their cause was a just one. In the   
end I tired of them, creating a flawless gem to hide within and observe   
the goings of the world. Inside it I learned to direct my perception so   
that I could not just the external side of the affairs but also sense people's   
thoughts and emotions and their minds. I could look through so many eyes and   
feel through so many hearts that returning into the three-dimensional realm   
did not appeal to me anymore."  
"Did you have someone to love? People to love you?" demanded Serena in dismay.  
"I was a mage, Serenity. Back then mages were discovered at the age of three,   
and brought to special academies to be trained in their powers. They lived   
there till they grew weary of the world and either ended their existence or   
transferred their life essences elsewhere. The transformation sticks of your   
scouts are examples of such objects."  
"So do the girls also have people living inside their sticks?"  
"They do not live, not like I do," he explained. "Their conscience is   
dormant, and all that is left is their power, the power your scouts use.   
They can be startled into a brief awakening by the object wielders, but they   
cannot remain awake for longer than granting the wielder's utmost wish."  
"And you can?"  
"Yes. I'm always awake, but my powers, akin to theirs, are transferred to   
the Crystal. That's the price I pay for immortality and perpetual preoccupation   
with human affairs. Unlike them I can draw the power from the Crystal."  
"Then you can take the Crystal, and I can have a normal life!" cheered   
Serena.  
"No, rash one, I can't. Haven't I told you that the power is confined to   
the Crystal? I choose the Crystal owners, but I cannot become one myself."  
"So you're like a genie?"  
  
He chuckled. As far as he was concerned, she was the one, but he had to   
persuade her to submit to his choice and send him where he belonged.  
  
"Not at all. I am free. To watch, to ponder, to decide, to do the right   
thing. Free from any command and authority, from the compulsion of my own   
compassion. Dwelling within the Crystal brought me incomparable comfort and   
well-being no genie can experience. Are you through with the interrogation?"  
"Just one more question," bid Serena. "How did the Crystal get to the first   
moon queen who passed it on to the successors?"  
"I gave it to her. I told you that I choose the owner didn't I?"  
"Oh. OK. So what do we do now?"  
"Well, that depends. What do you usually do at this hour?"  
"Go to sleep of course. It's quite late."  
"Let's go to sleep then."  
"What?" she screeched, scarlet with consternation. "You're not going to sleep   
in my house are you?"  
"Do you suggest that I venture outside at this quite late hour?" he queried,   
arching a brow.  
"Why don't you go back into the Crystal?" offered Serena with a pout. She   
couldn't have him stay at the house. What if her parents found him there and   
had her grounded till she was eighteen? Raye would certainly make use of the   
time to snatch Darien, which was unacceptable, and more so than having   
millennia old force sleeping in the streets if it didn't wish to go back   
where it belonged.  
  
The rainbow headed mage stared at his host with unveiled curiosity. Had   
he been home he would have been able to decipher her thoughts but staying   
near her had him guessing, which, judging by his previous experience that   
night, was not at all pleasant. Going back, however, was not an option.   
He had to help the lost princess, and that could only be done through   
communication. Still, he couldn't help the itch to learn more about the   
intriguing princess.  
  
"Can you send me there?" he inquired, knowing full well that she couldn't.   
Communication couldn't be established with him away from her, and the plan   
was to convince her to let him stay.  
"I can't, but you're the mage..."  
"With no powers at the moment."  
"But my father would kill me if I let you stay in the house!" she wailed.  
"He doesn't have to see me."  
"Are you going to become invisible?"  
"Woe is me, but that feat is beyond my humble endowment."  
"Huh?"  
"I can't," he translated ruefully. Sometimes the world population changed   
for worse rather than for better, ridding their speech of the most expressive   
elements, for one, wasn't to be admired. "I can become smaller, though."  
"Great," Serena squealed, springing from the couch to jump around gleefully.   
"You can live in my Barbie doll-house! It's been years since anybody occupied   
the place!"  
"Barbie doll house?" he gasped incredulously. What did I ever do to deserve the   
humiliation, he thought.  
"It's either that or sleeping in the streets," she threatened, bounding up the   
stairs. "Coming?"  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
The curtains were draped; the lights were turned off. A poster of Tuxedo Mask   
was flashing his most engaging smile at the prone figure of a small teenage girl,   
sprawled on the bed. Her eyes were shut, the corners of her lips curled up in a   
relaxed grin, and, for once, the dreamy superhero from the poster   
did not occupy her thoughts. Well, occupy her every waking moment he might, but   
she was blissfully asleep.  
  
On the table next to the bed and the huge window there stood a dusty dollhouse   
with crooked walls and fractured roof. The meager illumination of the moonlight,   
mingling with the faint glow of the street lamps, could have allowed a visitor a   
glimpse of a weird puppet, fidgeting on the model of a queen-size four-poster,   
that took half the room of the doll-loft.  
  
"Why on earth have I stayed here," muttered the puppet under its breath, "trapped   
in this poor excuse for a life energy vessel that hasn't ceased giving me grief ever   
since I arrived! Sound reasons they should have been, having forced me to abide by   
this horizoned world's rules. How do the humans find it in themselves to   
engage in mental activities when it takes so much of their minds to master their   
bodies, keep their hearts pumping, their lungs expelling the polluted air and all!   
I guess it is no wonder that their intelligence is so limited, nice as they might   
appear."  
  
The muttering continued for a very long time that seemed to drag even longer   
to the irritated puppet. If you were pried away from everything you deemed   
dear or just passable, and thrust into a reality long forgotten,   
you would have probably behave the same way. But you know that it would have   
done you no good, don't you?  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Erm, so? Do you? Please tell me. 


End file.
